Abilities
Just about every dice roll you make is going to get a bonus or penalty based on your character's abilities. A tough character has a better chance of surviving a freezing night on Hoth. A perceptive character is more likely to notice stormtroopers sneaking up from behind. A stupid character is less likely to find a concealed panel that leads to a secret cargo compartment. Your ability scores tell you what your modifiers are for rolls such as these. Your character has six abilities: Strength (Abbreviated Str), Dexterity (Abbreviated Dex), Constitution (Abbreviated Con), Intelligence (Abbreviated Int), Wisdom (Abbreviated Wis), and Charisma (Abbreviated Cha). Each of your character's above-average abilities gives you a benefit on certain die rolls, and each below-average ability gives you a disadvantage on other die rolls. You roll your scores randomly, assign them to the abilities you like, raise and lower them according to your character's Species, and then raise them as your character advances in experience. Your Ability Scores To create an ability score for your character, roll four six-sided dice (4d6). Disregard the lowest die and total the three highest dice. This roll gives you a number between 3 (Horrible) and 18 (Tremendous). The average ability score for the typical galactic citizen is 10 or 11, but your character is not typical. The most common ability scores for player characters (Heroes) are 12 and 13. (The average Hero is above average.) Make this roll six times, recording the result each time on a piece of paper. Once you have all six scores, assign each score to one of your six abilities. At this step, you need to know what kind of person your character is going to be, including their Species and Class, in order to know where best to place your character's ability scores. Remember that choosing a Species other than Human causes some of these ability scores to change. Ability Modifiers Each ability, after changes made because of Species, has between a -5 to a +5 modifier. The table below shows the modifier for each ability, based on it's score. The modifier is the number you add to or subtract from the die roll when your character tries to do something related to that ability. For instance, you add or subtract your Strength modifier to your roll when you try to hit someone with a Vibroblade. You also apply the modifier to some numbers that aren't die rolls, such as when you add or subtract your Dexterity modifier to your Reflex Defense. A positive modifier is called a bonus and a negative modifier is called a penalty. Planned Generation Instead of rolling dice, you may select the scores you want by using the planned character generation method. This requires a bit more thought and effort on your part, since you need to know what kind of character you want to play so you can select your scores as outlined below. Your character's scores all start at 8. You have 25 points to spend to increase these scores, using the costs shown below. After you select your scores, apply any Species modifiers. Standard Score Package The third method of determining ability scores is the standard score package, a balanced mix of scores designed to quickly create hero characters. Assign the scores to the abilities you like. After you assign your scores, apply Species modifiers. The standard score package is: 15, 14, 13, 12, 10, and 8. The Abilities Each ability partly describes your character and affects some of your character's actions. The description of each ability includes a list of notable characters along with their scores in that ability. Strength (STR) Strength measures your character's muscle and physical power. This ability is especially important for Soldiers because it helps them prevail in physical combat. You apply your character's Strength modifier to: * Melee attack rolls. * Damage for melee and thrown weapons. (Exceptions: Grenades don't have their damage modified by Strength.) * Climb, Jump, and Swim checks (The Skills with Strength as the key ability). * Strength checks (For breaking down doors and the like). Dexterity (DEX) Dexterity measures hand-eye coordination, agility, reflexes, and balance. This ability is the most important ability for Scoundrels, but it's also high on the list for characters who want to be good shots with ranged weapons (Such as Blaster Pistols) or who want to handle the controls of a starship or speeder fairly well. You apply your character's Dexterity modifier to: * Ranged attack rolls, such as with blasters. * Reflex Defense, provided the character can react to the attack. * Acrobatics, Pilot, Ride, and Stealth checks (The Skills with Dexterity as the key ability). Constitution (CON) Constitution represents your character's health and stamina. Constitution adds to a hero's hit points, so it's important for everyone, but most important for Soldiers and Jedi. You may apply your Constitution modifier to: * Each die roll for gaining additional hit points (Though a penalty can never drop a hit point roll below 1; a character always gains at least 1 hit point each time he or she goes up a level). * Fortitude Defense, for resisting Poison, Radiation, and similar threats. * The Endurance skill. Intelligence (INT) Intelligence determines how well your character learns and reasons, Intelligence is important for Scouts, Nobles, and any character who wants to have a wide assortment of Skills. You apply your character's Intelligence modifier to: * The number of languages your character knows at the start of the game. * The number of Trained Skills you have. * Knowledge, Mechanics, and Use Computer checks (The Skills with Intelligence as the key ability). Beasts have Intelligence scores of 1 or 2. Sentient creatures have scores of at least 3. When a character's Intelligence score permanently increases or decreases, it's number of Trained Skills and known languages also changes. For example, if Paul's Wookiee Scout increases his Intelligence from 13 to 14, his Int modifier goes from +1 to +2. Paul's Wookiee gains one new Trained Skill (Chosen from his Class Skills) and one new language. The Wookiee's greater Intelligence allows him to utilize things he has learned but never before applied properly. Wisdom (WIS) Every creature has a Wisdom score. Wisdom describes a character's willpower, common sense, perception, and intuition. Compared to Intelligence, Wisdom is more related to being in tune with and aware of one's surroundings, while Intelligence represents one's ability to analyze information. An "absent-minded professor" has a low Wisdom score and a high Intelligence score. A simpleton with low Intelligence might nonetheless have great insight (High Wisdom). Wisdom is the most important ability for Scouts, but it's also important for characters wishing to be in-tune with their environment or characters who like to gamble. If you want your character to have keen senses, put a high score in Wisdom. You apply your Wisdom modifier to: * Will Defense, generally for resisting certain Force Powers * Gambling (Excluding Pure Games of Chance) * Perception, Survival, and Treat Injury checks (The Skills with Wisdom as the key ability). * The number of Force Powers you learn when you take the Force Training feat. When a Force-Using character's Wisdom score permanently increases or decreases, their number of known Force Powers also changes. For every instance of the Force Training feat that you have, you gain one Force Power (Or an additional use of an already-known Force Power) for every point by witch your Wisdom modifier increases. If you instead suffer a permanent reduction in your Wisdom modifier, you lose access to the same number of Force Powers; you must chose which Force Powers (Or extra uses of the same Force Power) you lose. Charisma (CHA) Every creature has a Charisma score. Charisma measures a character's force of personality, persuasiveness, personal magnetism, ability to lead, and physical attractiveness. It represents actual strength of personality and force of presence, not merely how others perceive you in a social setting. Charisma is most important for Nobles and Jedi. You apply your Charisma modifier to: * Deception, Gather Information, Persuasion, and Use the Force checks (The Skills with Charisma as the key ability). Changing Ability Scores Over time, your character's ability scores can change. Ability scores can increase without limit. * At 4th, 8th, 12th, 16th, and 20th level, a heroic character increases two ability scores by 1 point each. * As a character ages, some ability scores go up and others go down. Details can be found in the Heroic Traits section. When an ability score changes, all attributes associated with that score change accordingly. For example, when Sia-Lan becomes a 4th level Jedi, she increases her Dexterity from 15 to 16 and increases her Charisma from 13 to 14. Now she's harder to hit, better at using ranged weapons, and all of her Dexterity-based and Charisma-based Skills improve as well.